NBA Playoffs 2013: Spurs pull away for 102-91 win, Rockets and Hawks fall short

That said, there are a few things I noticed with the Thunder’s defense that are cause for concern as Oklahoma City moves forward.

Here’s the play in real time.

After the game, he spoke with TNT’s David Aldridge about his improving health (via TNT’s broadcast of Game 2):

“By far, by far,” he said following the game when asked if this was the best he’s felt since he returned to the lineup from a severely sprained ankle. “It’s been a battle but I’m happy we got the win. It’s very important we protect home court, so hopefully we can do the same thing in L.A.”

The L.A. Lakers do not appear to have miracles up their sleeves. The team fell behind the San Antonio Spurs, 0-2, on Wednesday; unsurprisingly, the Lakers’ poor bench -- a unit stretched even thinner by injuries to Kobe Bryant and Jodie Meeks -- was destroyed by that of the Spurs. While San Antonio has a nice offense, L.A.‘s resistance was just so futile: the Spurs scored their 102 points in just 86 possessions, for an offensive rating of 119.

The series shifts back to STAPLES Center, where the Lakers are better, but likely still not good enough to win two to even the series. And even if they did, they’d still need to win one in San Antonio eventually, a task looking ever more impossible with each game. If the Lakers fail to advance, we’ll have seen the team’s earliest ejection since 2007, which is when Kobe Bryant last made a trade demand.

The Rockets made a late run and it turned into a really close game. But for a while, the Thunder were cruising with a solid lead and the OKC fans were loving it. So many things happening in this GIF.

But in the end, the Spurs cruised to a 102-91 win. Manu Ginobili capped off the Spurs’ win with this slick behind the back pass for a dagger three.

Game 3 is scheduled for Friday night at STAPLES Center.

Pacers blog Indy Cornrows was impressed with the effort from the Indiana offense in Game 2, including the contributions from the bench:

The Spurs shot a blazing 51.2 percent from the field and 50 percent from the three-point line.

The series will now shift to Los Angeles, where the Lakers will host the Spurs at 10:30 p.m. ET at Staples Center in Game 3. The home team in the NBA playoffs is 14-2.

This is the million-dollar question when talking about the Lakers in any context, but it holds especially true with a team that executes as flawlessly as San Antonio. All eyes are on Howard as he begins to look healthier each game, and is becoming the player Lakers fans gushed over before the season began.

The Lakers are doing a fine job overall in Game 2 largely due to Howard’s effort. His activity has manifested itself as he’s totaled three blocks and the fact that he’s changed several other shots.

Here’s a closer look at Perkins blatantly grabbing Parsons and the ref not calling the foul.

After getting blown out in Game 1, it initially looked like the Hawks were going to be a bit more competitive on Wednesday night. Atlanta scored the first five points of the game, but Indiana quickly struck back and the game settled into a back-and-forth affair before the Pacers took control toward the end of the quarter. The Hawks started hot from the field, but cooled off and found themselves once again in foul trouble.

George picked up right where he left off, scoring 11 points in the opening frame. Hibbert also got off to an excellent start, scoring seven points and handing out some nifty assists. The Pacers ended the quarter on a spurt, going on an 8-2 run to take a 25-19 lead.

Houston trailed only 57-55 at the halftime break, but received bad news before the start of the third quarter when Lin headed back to the locker room due to his injury. The Rockets held a 63-61 lead early in the third before the Thunder, behind an attacking Westbrook, reeled off 13 straight points to take a 74-61 lead. Houston then reeled in Oklahoma City to trail only 78-72 to start the fourth quarter, but the Thunder opened the final stanza with an 11-2 run. The Rockets answered again by ripping off a 21-4 run to give them the late 95-93 lead.

2. Can Houston slow down OKC’s big men?: In the first half, the floor spacing caused enough matchup problems that pulled the Oklahoma City bigs out of the paint -- or pulled them out of the game altogether. But with Lin’s injury, Houston couldn’t go with as small of a lineup in the second half, and the Thunder interior defense clamped down. Ibaka finished with 12 points, six blocks and 11 rebounds.

There’s so much happening in this GIF. The main character is clapping like a mad man. Then there’s the super stern looking guy who isn’t having much fun at all. And then there’s the guy with the shirt on his head. I love it more and more every time I watch it.

The Pacers shot 48.8 percent from the field and led by as many as 11 points in the half. The Hawks shot well themselves, but they committed 10 turnovers and just could not get many stops. Atlanta’s bench also has just six points, compared to 24 for Indiana.

Before the game, Satchel Price took a look at three key questions heading into the contest.

Stephenson is coming off a solid performance in Game 1, where he scored 13 points on 5-of-9 shooting in 41 minutes. He also had five rebounds, four assists and three steals in the 107-90 victory.

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After the Thunder’s dominating 120-91 victory in Game 1, the move seemingly is working through the first half with regards to the three keys heading into Wednesday night’s game. Houston trails just 57-55.

And somehow, Beverley had four second-chance points in the first half for Houston.

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• Flannery: End of an era in Boston?

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The move by coach Kevin McHale is a likely prelude to the Rockets amping up the fast-paced tempo to an even greater degree.

In a 120-91 loss to the Thunder in the series opener, Beverley scored 11 points off the bench and led the Rockets with four assists. Beverley also made some big defensive plays and that showed up in the box score with two steals.

Facing the Spurs in Game 2 on Wednesday night, the Lakers will need a much stronger effort to avoid a 2-0 series deficit. That starts on offense, where L.A. needs to get more from its best players.

Though the Lakers were one of the best offensive clubs in the league this season with Bryant in tow, his absence radically changes the way the offense runs. Without his ability to handle the ball and create looks, L.A. needs to execute at a much higher degree of efficiency to fill the basket.

All times ET

• Watch CP3’s buzzer beater

Coming off a 120-91 beatdown in Game 1, the Rockets would seem to be in serious trouble against Harden’s former team, but don’t expect Houston to simply bow out yet. As good as OKC is, we’ll see how the Rockets react after stumbling so badly in the opening game.

How can the Rockets pull off an upset on the road Wednesday? Here are three questions to break down the contest.